Indrella ampulla is a species of tropical terrestrial air-breathing gastropod mollusk in the family Ariophantidae. This is the type species of the monotypic genus Indrella, which is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
This is the only species in the genus Indrella, however the animal color is polymorphic: the visible soft parts of the snail can be various colors, including red and pale yellow.
Glossy Ibises are threatened by wetland habitat degradation and loss through drainage, increased salinity, groundwater extraction and invasion by exotic plants. It is also threatened locally by hunting, disturbance and pesticides.
Lion-tailed macaque ins its typical rain forest habitat. With a total population estimated to be just 3000 the lion-tailed macaque ranks among the rarest and most threatened primates….
Last year on 17th May I got a short message on Flickr. “Are your photos available for purchase. Would love to purchase one of your photo’s”, I replied back with an equally short “which one”. The reply to which was that sender was an artist and woud like to use my Elephant charge as a part of his art work. Since I don’t really sell my photographs and all of them are under a Creative Commons license I granted the permission for use of the photo with a condition that I be sent a picture of the completed work. Instead of a picture, I was promised a canvas print in return. I sent the pictures and after a while forgot all about it till last Friday I got a long tubular package in the post from Adam Scott Rote. Inside was a 30″x40″ canvas print, signed and numbered of the hyper-realistic painting called “Elephant Walk”
The photo does not do justice to the print – take a look here. Yes it is a painting and the canvas print will adorn our living room wall!
The Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis), also called the Blue Jay in former times is a member of the roller family of birds. They are found mainly in the Indian Subcontinent, but also in a wider arc stretching from Iraq to Thailand and are best known for the aerobatic displays of the male during the breeding season. They are very commonly seen perched along roadside trees and wires and are commonly seen in open grassland and scrub forest habitats. It is not migratory, but undertakes some seasonal movements. Several states in India have chosen it as their symbol.
A recent assessment for IUCN reports 3000-3500 of these animals live scattered over several areas in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The lion-tailed macaque ranks among the rarest and most threatened primates. Their range has become increasingly isolated and fragmented by the spread of agriculture and tea, coffee, teak and cinchona, construction of water reservoirs for irrigation and power generation, and human settlements to support such activities. They don’t live, feed or travel through plantations. Destruction of their habitat and the fact that they avoid human proximity, has led to the drastic decrease of their population.
Another one from the HiKey series…
I had taken this photo 8 years ago before I had a DSLR – I had just placed a fresh cut strawberry on a white sheet of paper in sunlight.
Most twitchers would go gaga if they spot this bird, the reason being that Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca) is a extremely shy and secretive bird. You are lucky if you manage to get a shot. It is a dream come true if one decides to walk in the open for you 🙂